Jaws 2 by Hank Searls

Rating: 4.0

I was surprised that I enjoyed Jaws 2 as well as the first one. Especially considering it wasn't even written by the same author. It was right along the same line as the original Jaws though with a huge shark, a pregnant one this time, terrorizing the population of Amity. I do admit that this novel does take quite a suspension of disbelief, having two man eating sharks attack the same shoreline in a matter of a couple of years. They say in this book itself how implausible it is that "the Terror" could happen again to this town. Ah well....it was very entertaining and enjoyable nonetheless. One thing that did irk me though was that Chief Brody somehow lost a kid between Jaws the original and Jaws 2. There were three children in the Brody family in Jaws and for some reason Hank Searls dropped one of the kids without mention in Jaws 2. As long as you aren't expecting too much, you might just be surprised at how fun Jaws 2 really is.

The Mist by Stephen King

Rating: 4.5

Imagine this: you are stranded in a grocery store with a bunch of other people, some sane and some not so sane, while a fog-like mist surrounds the store and is enshrouding a mass of creatures that seem from a different dimension. Sound like a creepy story line? It's better than that. Stephen King, the "Master of the Macabre", creates some truly out-of-this-world creatures that lurk in the mist. But....he makes the atmosphere inside the store almost as dangerous as the outside by adding in some human pandemonium. It's all about adaptability. Some people don't cope well and start to lose it. The most fearsome by far is the witch-like Mrs. Carmody preaching the end times and expiation. She believed in a biblical reason for the mist. Others suggested The Arrowhead project, a government preserve outside of town. Whatever is behind the mist, it's classic King!

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

Rating: 4.0

The Andromeda Strain is a terrifying story when you consider how plausible it could be. A probe satellite falls back to earth near the town of Piedmont. Within minutes, almost everybody in the town is dead. That satellite brought back something with it from outerspace. A team of scientists is assembled to figure out what "it" is that was brought back. This is a fun thriller that really kept me hooked. At times the language got quite technical but that just lent more to the non-fiction feel of this novel. Overall....The Andomeda Strain is a captivating read.

Lost & Found by Jacqueline Sheehan

Rating: 5.0

Lost & Found is a book about just that: being lost and then found. It's about a woman and a dog who have both lost someone, but together they both start to heal. Rocky's husband dies suddenly and she moves out to an island off Maine to sort of run away from everybody and be surrounded by strangers. She becomes the new Animal Control Warden and leavers her career as a therapist behind. What she doesn't expect is to fall in love with the people and animals of Peak's Island. While in the course of her new duties in Animal Control, Rocky meets Lloyd, a very lovable black lab who has been shot through the shoulder with an arrow. Rocky takes Lloyd in while trying to unravel the mystery of who shot him and why. Solving this mystery is a lot more dangerous than it sounds because it centers on a very bad man who will do anything to get that dog. Lost & Found has a lot of interesting and unique characters but Lloyd the dog really steals the show in this novel. This book is great at showing the interaction and bond between a person and a dog.

"A poignant and unforgettable tale of love, loss, and moving on . . . with the help of one not-so-little dog."

The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue

Rating: 4.0

The Mercy of Thin Air is a slow moving novel but ultimately well worth the read. It's narrated by Raziela Nolan, who is a young woman in New Orleans in the 1920's. She is in the midst of a wonderful love affair with Andrew and on the brink of going to medical school when tragedy strikes. She dies. But she doesn't pass on. She ends up staying "between", the realm before whatever comes next. From here she "haunts" a young couple, Amy and Scott, 75 years later. As Raziela struggles to learn what happened to her beloved Andrew after her death, we slowly discover what it is that draws Raziela to Amy and Scott. These two intertwined love stories from separate times are truly heartbreaking....but beautiful. It's not often a book brings tears to my eyes but The Mercy of Thin Air did.

"From ambitious, forward-thinking Razi, who illegally slips birth control guides into library books; to hip Web designer Amy, who begins to fall off the edge of grief; to Eugenia, caught between since the Civil War, the characters in this wondrous novel sing with life. Evoking the power of love, memory, and time, The Mercy of Thin Air culminates in a startling finish that will leave readers breathless. " -taken from synopsis

The Seven Days of Peter Crumb by Jonny Glynn

Rating: 4.0

I feel kind of sick and demented for actually enjoying this book. But I did. Enjoy it. Well....enjoy isn't really the word. I was more horrified while reading this. Peter Crumb, serious schizophrenic, plans on dying in seven days. He spends these last days acting out some of the most sick and twisted scenarios on complete strangers. He murders, rapes and does things I'm not even going to mention here. But this creepy little book is strangely alluring. I kept reading just to see what Peter Crumb was going to do next and how it all was going to end. If you enjoy stories like American Psycho, then you'll appreciate this debut from Jonny Glynn. If you want to get inside the head of a murdering madman on a downward spiral....this is the book for you. If not...then I recommend you stay far far away from The Seven Days of Peter Crumb.

"Gritty, dazzling, and profoundly disturbing, Jonny Glynn's The Seven Days of Peter Crumb is an extraordinary debut that portrays the deterioration of a severely splintered soul." -from synopsis

Jaws by Peter Benchley

Rating: 4.0

I was slightly disappointed in Jaws. Since most books are better than the movie they inspire, I was expecting this book to be awesome. While it was entertaining, it was just not as good as Jaws the movie. Jaws is about the people of Amity who are being terrorized by a Great White shark, and the people who risk their lives trying to catch and kill it. The novel certainly has some thrills, but a surprising amount of the book is dedicated to the relationships between some of the key characters. Overall, I think Jaws is a nice thriller. It just isn't as thrilling as the movie.

The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

*I'm not giving this book a rating

It has taken me all of the summer thus far to complete The Origin of Species. It is a very tedious and analytical read. I found my mind wandering while I was reading this and I don't think I retained half of what I read. I do understand Darwin's main ideas though. Charles Darwin was a very insightful man who has had such a great impact on science and society as a whole. Did I enjoy this book? Not really. Do I think this is an important and valuable book? Absolutely!

Hunted Past Reason by Richard Matheson

Rating: 5.0

Hunted Past Reason is one heck of a page turner. As some one else mentioned, this novel has similarities to Deliverance and The Most Dangerous Game. What starts out as a backpacking trip between two acquaintances turns into a deadly game with one of the men being hunted by the other. And yes....it is as horrifying as it sounds. What makes matters worse is the hunter is an experienced backpacker, while the hunted is an out of shape writer. As the synopsis reads, "...the enforced isolation of the hike soon exposes long-hidden rivalries and resentments between the two men. The deeper they get into the primeval wilderness and the farther from civilization, the greater the tension between them becomes—until the simmering hostility erupts into a terrifying life-or-death battle for survival!" The story was chilling and kept me reading long past my bedtime. As a bonus, I learned an awful lot about backpacking and wilderness survival.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Rating: 1.0

I don't understand why this novel is as popular as it is. I found it to be extremely boring. It follows the Buendia family through generations during the rise and fall of the fictional town of Macondo. Much of the Buendia family have almost the exact same names, so that got very confusing. Nothing interesting happened to any of them. I didn't care about, or even like, any of the characters. One Hundred Years of Solitude was a big disappointment for me. Definitely not worth the time I spent reading it.

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

Rating: 5.0

Teddy Daniels is a U.S. Marshal. He, along with his new partner Chuck Aule, go to Shutter Island to find out what happened to Rachael Solando. Shutter Island is home to the Ashville Hospital for the criminally insane. Now Rachael is lose on the island since she disappeared out of her locked cell and barred window. It's like she disappeared into thin air. Teddy is here to find out what happened but he finds out more than that. I took this from the synopisis: "As a killer hurricane bears relentlessly down on them, a strange case takes on even darker, more sinister shades — with hints of radical experimentation, horrifying surgeries, and lethal countermoves made in the cause of a covert shadow war. No one is going to escape Shutter Island unscathed, because nothing at Ashecliffe Hospital is what it seems. But then neither is Teddy Daniels." I didn't see the end coming. I was just blown away! This is an exciting book with twists and turns that will keep you guessing right up to the very last page. Shutter Island is a great mystery/thriller.